Customs intercepts 105 wild birds worth N24m in Badagry

The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service said on Saturday that it had intercepted 105 wild birds being smuggled through the Seme-Badagry Motorway.

The Controller of the Command, Comptroller Timi Bomodi, said in a statement that the duty-paid value (DPV) of the birds was worth N24,912,928.

Bomodi said officers of the command, while on patrol of the Seme-Badagry Motorway , found the birds after intercepting two buses, one coming to Nigeria from Togo and another heading to Benin Republic from Katsina on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, respectively.

“The cross-examination of these buses revealed that 60 green parrots, 14 budgerigar parrots, six eastern rosella parrots, two macaw parrots, one white cockatoo parrot,

“Others are four rose-ringed parrots, one Maidain Dock bird, three love birds, and four other birds that were discovered.

“About 10 of these birds have died due to the trauma of transporting them in this condition.

“Two suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizure,” he said.

Bomodi condemned this criminal act by some members of society.

He reiterated that trade in endangered wildlife contravenes the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement among governments of which Nigeria is a signatory.

The controller said that those doing the illicit business would continue to be intercepted and arrested so long as they refused to stay off the Lagos-Abidjan corridor.

“In line with the dictates of the the NCS of promoting inter-agency collaboration and synergy, the seized wild birds have been handed over to the officials of the National Park Service,, as it is their responsibility to rehabilitate and protect them from further harm,” he said.

Supreme News reports that the command also intercepted smuggled African parrots on Sept. 24 en route to Benin Republic from Kaduna.

The controller said the birds loaded into a luxury bus were intercepted along the Seme-Badagry Motorway.

He added that the birds had a DPV worth N6.9 million and that two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures.